Motorcycle theft has been plaguing the community for years now, and unless you chain your bike to a concreted-in anchor point, then it’s only a matter of time. Not only do you lose your pride and joy, but then you have to deal with those other thieves at the insurance companies, who both punish you for being a victim of crime and then pass on increased premiums to the rest of us. It’s enough to make your blood boil. But finally, we have a good news story to come out of a stolen bike scenario, and it all started when the owner of this Zero FXS thankfully had his motorcycle returned to him. His next step was inspired: have legendary builder Adam Kay from Untitled Motorcycles rebuild the Zero into a svelte custom street tracker, and the resulting bolt-on body kit could soon be available to the masses.
But before we dive into the story, there is a good reason that this electric bike was recovered with only minor damage. This is because Zero teamed up with a UK security company years ago to add GPS tracking as part of their anti-theft package. And as if straight out of a comedy movie, the very first day two Zero bikes were fitted with the technology, they were pinched from Zero’s transport van. When the team woke up the next morning, they noticed the theft, and quickly sent the police the GPS location thanks to their new tech, and the boys in blue had the bikes back and the thieves in cuffs in no time. Proof, if ever we needed it, that OEMs need to play a bigger part in stopping their bikes from being stolen.
But back to Untitled Motorcycles, where this particular Zero was awaiting Adam’s attention. Amongst the incredible bikes that he’s built, there have been some seriously cool electric-powered machines. This includes his ground-up build of the DTP (Death to Petrol) electric street motorcycle, and now, he had a new mission: transform the FXS into something awesome, easy to customise, and impossible to miss. “The plan was simple (on paper): create a bolt-on body kit that anyone could install with just a drill and a little patience. Four holes, two tapped and two with rivet nuts, and you’re good to go,” he explains.
The first step was to rip off all the damaged and destroyed bodywork, and Adam tells us it came off rather easily following the work the thieves had done before him. Not that he’ll be paying them a cent for their help in the teardown. Next, it was time to collaborate with high-tech wizard Jack Lennie, 3D scanning the bike so they had a highly accurate representation of what they were working with, and then using CAD to create the parts. Each piece was then laser cut as a flat part, that could then be folded into the right shape.
“Before committing to metal, I prototyped the kit in foldable plastic to see how it worked in the real world. It looked cool right away, especially in its bright blue test colour. The customer loved the shade, and just like that, the final colour was locked in,” Adam smiles. To take care of some practicalities, resident electrical guru Paul fired up his soldering iron and soon had a fresh headlight, taillight, and indicators wired in. Seeing where the wiring would run, and wanting to keep the design bolt-on friendly, Adam added some very clever wiring slots to the design of his panels.
Now the final parts could be cut from metal and neatly folded, with Adam welding the edges to give each panel a seamless, almost polished final finish. Essentially, you have three main components: the flat-track-inspired tail section which also serves as a seat base, the faux gas tank cover that gives the bike a proper motorcycle appearance, and that slick headlight cover with the now iconic UMC logo cut into it. “The seat pan headed off to Glenn Moger, who crafted a slim but comfy flat tracker seat.”
Before the panels were bolted down for the final time, the undersides were given a protective layer of powder coat to ensure they last a hell of a long time. And then it was over to Arni at Pro Kustoms to lay down the stunning satin blue paint, which works exceptionally well with the stock bike’s flat black mechanicals. To complete the kit, the tiny Motogadget indicators were easily wired in using the pre-cut slots, and an LED taillight and bodywork-styled number plate holder finished the job. Given the theme of the bike, it was then only fitting to add a set of grippy Dunlop Mutant tyres.
It’s easy to forget that the FXS is a serious piece of kit, with its air-cooled, brushless, electric motor laying down a stonking 94Nm of torque, packaged up in an ultralight aluminium frame. There’s Showa suspension for supermotard-like flickability, and you’ve got solid brakes, with Bosch ABS that can be switched off when you want to get naughty.
“The best part? This custom FXS isn’t just a showpiece. I made sure the body kit was practical and easy for anyone to install at home,” Adam tells us. Will he make more kits? If enough people step forward, you better believe he will. But even if this bike remains a one-off; from stolen and smashed to slick and scintillating, it makes for a hell of a story.
